While people have been putting meat inside bread for centuries, the modern name comes from John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. Montagu was a heavy gambler and reportedly spent 24 hours at a gaming table in 1762. To avoid leaving the game for a meal, he asked his cook to bring him salt beef between two slices of toasted bread. This allowed him to eat with one hand while keeping his fingers clean to handle his cards. The concept was quickly adopted by his social circle as 'the same as Sandwich,' and eventually simply 'a sandwich.' Interestingly, the Earl’s legacy lived on through his family; his descendant opened a sandwich chain called 'Earl of Sandwich' in 2004.